Russia rejects country supports Assad’s rule

July 06, 2012, 15:34 UTC+3"This is not a matter of the support for some politicians, but that the settlement process should be put on a normal, political basis," Ryabkov said

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MOSCOW, July 6 (Itar-Tass) — Russia rejects strongly that the country supports Bashar Assad’s rule in Syria, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday in comments on Hillary Clinton’s statements that Russia and China hamper the political peace process in Syria.

“I reject strongly that in the situation like that in Syria Russia supports Bashar Assad’s rule. This is not a matter of support for some politicians, but that the settlement process should be put on a normal, political basis,” Ryabkov underlined.

“Unfortunately, we cannot attain the basic understanding of various things from our partners, including Western partners. They still use the terms “friend or foe” and who is someone’s “client”,” the deputy foreign minister noted. “It seemed to Russia that similar terms should be left in the past. If it is still applicable to these politicians, this means that they stayed with their ideas in the past,” he pointed out.

“Russia does not support concrete politicians and political figures in Syria, but works for what, we hope, will help establish such a necessary dialogue with the authorities and the opposition in Syria,” Ryabkov underlined.